


Chapter 3: Master of Strings, God of Death

by nagatoyuki36



Series: Persona 3: Forever Bonds [3]
Category: Persona 3
Genre: Action/Adventure, Gen, Mystery, Other, Psychological Drama, Romance, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-11-20
Updated: 2012-11-20
Packaged: 2017-11-19 03:21:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,188
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/568520
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nagatoyuki36/pseuds/nagatoyuki36
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Alright, it's time for the first battle. This is the first time I actually write about a battle, so it might suck. Either way, starting from this chapter, I will include the "Persona Compendium" omake segment. Different characters will explain their personae and important events, locations and people involved with the story. If you read it, please just imagine Minato in a butler outfit and Hamuko in her maid outfit. Enjoy!</p>
    </blockquote>





	Chapter 3: Master of Strings, God of Death

**Author's Note:**

> Alright, it's time for the first battle. This is the first time I actually write about a battle, so it might suck. Either way, starting from this chapter, I will include the "Persona Compendium" omake segment. Different characters will explain their personae and important events, locations and people involved with the story. If you read it, please just imagine Minato in a butler outfit and Hamuko in her maid outfit. Enjoy!

**\- Tuesday, April 8** **, 2009 -**

Yesterday was truly a one of a kind day for Minato, as he was somehow able to go to school himself and not have to be carried. Today, on the other hand, was a normal day...

* * *

Minato groaned sleepily as Hamuko dragged him to school as if he were a garbage bag. It was truly a sight to behold and was sure to help them become famous among the students. Not that they really cared though. Hamuko was just doing it for fun and Minato was still happy in the land of dreams, so they probably still don't know the rumors concerning them.

Finally reaching the classroom, Hamuko neatly placed her brother in his seat and then sought out Junpei so she can have a pleasant conversation.

* * *

Classes were now in session and were as boring as ever. Ms. Toriumi, their homeroom teacher, was angry at Junpei for not paying attention and asked him to tell her...something. There's no way Minato would know, as he was blissfully sleeping all the way at the back of the classroom, safe from the teachers vision. Luckily for Junpei, Hamuko was there to save the day for him.

Math class was weird, the teacher to be more exact. Ms. Miyahara was short woman with a huge afro and buck teeth. If that wasn't weird enough, she just kept going on and on about the wonders of numbers. Good thing Minato was still sleeping.

Mr. Ekoda was probably the strangest one though. He must have some kind of psychological problem. Maybe delirium. Oh, wait, but that's a neuropsychiatric syndrome. Whatever, that guy still has it. After making half the class fall asleep out of pure boredom, the guy chose Minato to pick on of all people.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Am I interrupting your nap?" the teacher asked irritated.

"A little bit." Minato yawned.

"Why you brat! Have you absolutely no respect? I swear, kids these days...!" Ekoda was clearly furious. "What's your name you little rascal?"

"Arisato Minato."

Again that reaction. Ekoda dropped the book he was holding and almost fell to the floor himself. His eyes were filled with both unimaginable terror and boundless hatred.

"A-A-Arisato...? No!" he screamed. "No! NO! NOOOO!" he ran away out of fear and made his way to the hallway and then towards the principal's office. What's up his butt? Well, at least he could sleep in peace now. His classmates, although stunned by what happened, didn't seem to mind Ekoda leaving either. Just another normal day in the life of Minato...

* * *

Finally free from the terrors of school, and luckily not being dragged to the principals office, Minato and Hamuko entered the dorm chatting about what they should do in the following days.

"Oh they're back." Yukari stated to the man who was with her. The two approached the twins, ready for a probably long conversation which they weren't in the mood for.

"So, these are our new guests..." the man stated. He was middle-age gentleman with dark brown eyes, long wavy brown hair, and a goatee. He had on a tan suit underneath a brown turtleneck. He also wore glasses. "Good evening. My name is Ikutsuki Shuji. I'm the Chairman of the Board for your school."

"Itsukuki?" Hamuko asked tongue-tied.

"Ikutsuki...Hard to say, isn't it. That's why I don't like introducing myself. Even I get it wrong sometimes." he chuckled. "I apologize about the confusion regarding your accommodations. However, it may take a while longer before you receive the proper room assignments."

"Don't worry about it. We did come here at a busy time after all."

"Thank you for understanding. So, is there anything you'd like to ask?"

"No, we're good."

"Then, I hope you two have a successful school year. Now, if you'll excuse me..." and with that the chairman headed upstairs. Shortly after, the twins followed, ready for a good night's sleep.

"Hey, Onii-chan?" Hamuko started when they reached the first floor. "Wanna come sleep with me tonight? The rooms a little lonely when it's just me."

"W-what are you talking about?" Minato asked, slightly shocked. "Hamuko...you know you shouldn't be joking around about...that."

"Yeah..." she looked a little sad. "Sorry. Well, goodnight!"

"'Night."

* * *

**-Unknown Location-**

**-Dark Hour-**

"This is the second day already! When the hell is he going to come?!" the largest cloaked figure, Pallas, angrily shouted.

"Sit down, idiot." the one sitting opposite to him said in a cool voice.

"What was that, Enyo?! Tch!" he sat down, irritated.

Commotion and further arguments unfolded, as chaos spread across the room. It was abruptly put to a stop though, as the leader'swords caught everyone's attention.

"Silence! He's here."

Footsteps echoed loudly as the figure approached the room. The impossibly large gate, which was separating the entity from the room swung open as he entered.

"Welcome back...Master Thanatos!" the 12 of them greeted him in unison.

The man standing before them was wearing a cloak similar to the rest of them, although the hood wasn't obscuring his face. Instead, he wore a simple white mask with two large holes which were meant to be the eyes and a large menacing smile, both seemingly carved into the mask.

"Let's skip pleasantries and get right down to business." he said in a cold voice. "First of all, let's do a presence check. Momos!"

"I'm here!"

"Phrike!"

"Yeah!"

"Selene!"

"Yes!"

"Helios!"

"Yes!

"Coeus"

"Yes!"

"Himeros!"

"Here and ready to strip!"

"Pallas!"

"Been here for two days already!"

"Dike!"

"Di-chan is here! Here!"

"Penthus!"

"I'm always here, just playing my games."

"Tyche!"

"Yep!"

"Enyo!"

"Mm."

"Dolos!"

"Yes sir! All present and accounted for!"

"Perfect. Then, we shall begin our plans immediately. Release Arcana Magician!"

* * *

**-Velvet Room-**

**-Unknown Time-**

"Welcome, to the Velvet room."

Minato suddenly woke up from his sleep, only to find himself in a place that defied imagination. The room he found himself awake in was actually a giant elevator, which seemed to be constantly ascending. The entire place including the carpet, the table and even the chair he was now sitting on had a velvet blue color. Minato was so socked by these turn of events, that it took him a while to notice there were several other people in the room as well. He also noted that there was a beautiful piano melody playing, which was accompanied by a woman's singing voice. It was so sothing, that it actually helped calm him down.

"My name is Igor. ...I am delighted to make your acquaintance. " the man who sat at the opposite end of the table spoke to him. Minato was taken aback by the old man's appearance. He was a hunched-back bizarre old man with a ridiculously long nose and bulging, bloodshot eyes. He was wearing a black suit with white gloves and was creepily smiling at Minato. "Let me introduce the rest of the residents. This is Elizabeth." he pointed at the young lady standing at his right.

"Pleased to meet you." she politely bowed. The young woman had short white hair and yellow eyes. She wore a blue dress that seemed to resemble a stewardess's outfit with five black-lined circles inside small yellow circles, blue gloves, a blue attendant-like hat, black leggings and blue boots. She was also carrying some kind of giant book.

"The young man to my left is Theodore."

"It's an honor to meet you." he also bowed. He was wearing an outfit similar to the woman, and had the same white hair and yellow eyes. He had on a black-collared and long-sleeved shirt under a blue suit complimented with a blue tie. He also wore black pants with blue lines running through the sides, black shoes, and a hat similar to a flying attendant or bellboy. Just like the lady, he was also carrying a book.

"The young woman behind me is Margaret."

"Hello. I am Margaret." she introduced herself. Like the other's, her eyes were also yellow and her hair white, though it was longer then the other lady's, reaching down to the back of her neck. The dress she wore was the same the other girl was wearing with matching high heel shoes, except she was missing the hat which was replaced with a velvet blue hairband. The book was also present in her hands.

"The man playing the piano over there is Nameless and the woman that is singing is called Belladonna."

Nameless seemed to be a handsome man in his early thirties with blue hair similar to Minato's. He wore a white shirt underneath a blue suit and had a velvet blue blindfold tied around his eyes. This still didn't stop him from playing the tune flawlessly. Belladonna was slightly more peculiar than the rest. Her hair was black with a touch of white on both sides and was combed backwards in the shape of a wave, as if it were defying gravity. She was wearing a blue dress with a white butterfly design on it. Her voice soothed Minato's soul.

"As you can see, we are all denizens here, in this Velvet room. This place exists between dream and reality, mind and matter... It's been years since we've had a guest." Igor waved his hand and the book on the table opened by itself, revealing the document Minato signed at the dorm. "Only those who have signed the Contract can enter this place... Henceforth, you shall be welcome here in the Velvet Room. You are destined to hone your unique ability, and you will require my help to do so. I only ask one thing in return...that you abide by the contract, and assume responsibility for the choices you make."

"I-I...understand. I will. But...I have a lot of questions."

"That is to be expected. Unfortunately, our time runs scarce. Do not worry, you will recieve all the answers you seek in due time. Until then, hold on to this..." he waved his hand again and this time a weird butterfly shaped key velvet blue key materialized out of nowhere and flew into Minato's hand. "'Til we meet again..."

* * *

**\- Wednesday, April 9** **, 2009 -**

Minato woke up oddly refreshed in the morning. It would have seemed to be a wonderful day, had it not been for the weird dream he had last night. Wasit a dream, though. It certainly doesn't seem like it, as he found the weird key in his pocket for whatever reason. Still, there was no time to waste. School was a bitch and telling him to come.

* * *

The twins met up with Junpei on the way to school and, while Minato was still trying to make heads and tails of the dream he had, Hamuko was joking around with her seemingly new best friend. The two of them were the same in many ways. Both of them were loud, they liked to joke around, they didn't really take school too seriously (but then again, neither did Minato) and both of them were quite perverted. Though it was obvious that out of the two, Hamuko was by far the bigger pervert. Minato often wondered who she took after.

* * *

The day luckily passed without any incident, and the Arisato's were happily sleeping in their beds, just like the other residents of the dorm should have been doing. But no, they were actually wide and awake, monitoring the two as they did the last two days.

"How are they?" the chairman asked Yukari and Mitsuru who were at the controls.

"The same as last night." Mitsuru responded.

"Hmm. Very interesting. Even those who have the potential tend to be unstable at first...memory loss...disorientation... But these subjects are rather unique. They haven't exhibited any of the common symptoms."

"Could it be because...they're members of 'That' family?"

"It's possible. When we consider the legends regarding their ancestors, it's not too far-fetched to consider that they have inherited their power. And the power they had may very well be what we thought it was."

"I-I don't get it. What're you talking about?" Yukari interrupted the chairman.

"There's no time to explain right now. For the time being, we have to keep on eye on them."

"But...we're treating them like guinea pigs."

"I understand your concern, but it's imperative that we recruit new members. I heard they're your classmates. Wouldn't you be more comfortable, working with someone from the same grade?"

"Yeah, I guess. But still..." Yukari started but was cut off by a beep.

"Command room. Is that you, Akihiko."

"You're not gonna believe this...! This thing is huge!" a boy said from the other end of the line. "Unfortunately, I don't have time to talk. It's chasing me! I wanted to let you guys know, I'm almost there!"

"Does that mean he's bringing that thing here?!" Yukari shouted.

"Mr. chairman! Let's suspend our observation for now. We'll prepare for battle!"

"...R-right! Be careful!"

* * *

Minato's rest was now being rudely disturbed by shouts and large booms. It's as if someone was shaking the whole building.

"Damn stupid teenagers and their wild parties!" Minato groaned and pulled the covers over his head.

"Wake up!" Yukari's shout, together with her banging on the door, now completely woke Minato up who sluggishly crawled to the door, for whatever reason still in his school uniform. Opening the door, he found himself face to face with both Yukari and his sister.

"I don't have time to explain! We have to get out of here now!"

"G-got it!" Minato answered surprised by the sudden turn of events.

* * *

Yukari led the twins up to the roof, after receiving what appeared to be orders by someone through some sort of communication device. She locked the door behind her, thus blocking off entry.

"Whew...I think we're okay for now." Yukari said relieved.

"W-what's going on, Yukari?" Hamuko asked, still slightly scared by the situation.

Before she could respond, a strong quake shaked the entire building. The group looked on terrified as numerous hands suddenly grabbed the edge of the roof and a giant creature pulled itself up. The monsters body was made up entirely of hands, curled and twisted together. Numerous hands held sharp swords and one of the hands was carrying a large blue mask with the roman numeral I engraved on its forehead.

"W-what...?!" Minato stared at it in shock.

"Those creatures...we call them Shadows!" Yukari explained. "I...I have to fight!" She then pulled out a gun from the holster which was for whatever reason on her right thigh again. Shaking, she put the gun to her head and was trying to pull the trigger, though found herself unable to do so.

Meanwhile, the Shadow was moving its mask left and right, as if trying to get a grasp on its surroundings. Finding it's targets, it quickly made it's way towards them before swinging its swords, making small pillars of blue flames erupt from the ground. One of these erupted dangerously close to Yukari and, though it didn't hit her directly, it knocked her unconscious and sent her gun flying into the puddle of blood in front of Minato.

"Onii-chan..."

Minato instinctively picked up the gun and stared at it, replaying the events that happened to him recently. The Velvet Room, Igor's words, Yukari's gun. And the events regarding their parents disappearance. This Shadow...and the all the info from the scrolls he read back at the Main House. They must all be connected somehow.

"Go on...Don't be afraid." the voice of the little boy who made him sign the contract when he arrived echoed in his ears.

Although still afraid, Minato slowly brought the gun to his head. Breathing in deeply, he then smiled and pulled the trigger.

"Per...So...Na..."

Minato's eye glowed a velvet blue color as the sound of shattered glass echoed through the night. Blue glass shards formed and span around him and a bluish mist formed behind him. The shards then seemed to be absorbed by the mist and formed into a creature of sorts. It was different from the enemy though. It didn't have that eerie feel to it. Quite the contrary, it's presence was very soothing.

"Thou art I...and I am thou...from the sea of thy soul I cometh...I am Orpheus...Master of Strings!" the creature announced as it emerged from the mist and started screeching. Orpheus resembled a sort of metallic puppet, colored platinum and white. Only its head seemed to be organic, which bared a resemblance to Minato's, even the hairstyle, except its hair was white. It had speakers built into its chest and torso, mirroring Minato's headphones which he constantly has on his presence. It had a giant lyre on its back, a weapon fitting for the 'Master of Strings'.

"Go Orpheus!" Minato ordered, regaining his composure.

Orpheus flew towards the enemy, lyre in hand, ready to strike down on the Shadow. The monster wasn't lazy though, and blocked the attack with its swords before striking Orpheus's torso. Minato grabbed at his chest in pain, the damage seemingly reflected on his body. Orpheus flew back and then struck its lyre, sending a small fireball towards the Shadow at great speed. The attack was useless though, as it was seemingly absorbed.

"Damn!"

Whilst Orpheus was struggling with the Shadow, Minato headed towards Hamuko, who was just staring dumbfoundedly at the battle. She was in a state of shock, but, then again, who could blame her?

"Hamuko!" Minato cried out to her. "Here, use this." he handed her the gun.

"W-what?! N-no! I...I can't! I-I'm...scared..." Hamuko started crying.

"Don't worry. Everything'll be okay." Minato smiled and hugged her."Trust me. You can do it."

Hamuko looked at the gun with fear and then slowly lifted it to her head. Believing her brother's words, she closed her eyes, and pulled the trigger.

"Persona!" Hamuko shouted as the creature emerged from the mist.

"Thou art I...and I am thou...from the sea of thy soul I cometh...I am Eurydice...Mistress of Strings!"

Eurydice was very similar to Orpheus, but had some notable differences. Her hair was longer and brown, with a golden-colored torso instead of the platinum one that Orpheus had, and its lyre was heart-shaped.

"Go Eurydice! Help Orpheus!" Hamuko commanded the Persona, which happily obliged. Striking its lyre, a small chunk of ice formed and went flying towards the Shadow, hitting it right on the mask, even managing to crack it a little. Perhaps it was due to the fact that the attack was ice type, but the creature also collapsed, hopefully because it was weak to it.

"Alright! Good work, Hamuko!"Minato congratulated his sister.

"Yeah! Okay, it's time for an All-Out-Attack!"

"Orpheus!"

"Eurydice!"

"GO!" the two shouted together.

The two Personas closed in on the target from both sides and then began to pound it with their lyres in unison. The Shadow was now taking some serious damage and seemed to be screeching in pain. Enraged, it began flailing its arms and managed to injure them both with its swords. Now furious, the Shadow started its counterattack, greatly injuring both Personas and their respective users. Knocking Orpheus and then Minato away, the Shadow then impaled Eurydice with one of the swords and held it up high, as if it were a trophy. Hamuko collapsed in pain, holding at her stomach. Unfortunately, she was still conscious and looked on in terror as the monster approached her.

"Stop..." Minato, though greatly injured, mustered enough strength and called out to the monster. "No, get away from her...Get away...Orpheus, get up...Please, get up..." Minato was tearing up. "Damn...Damn...I..."

The Shadow was now towering over Hamuko and lifting its swords, ready to end her life.

"I SAID STOP IT!" Minato shouted in pure rage. Suddenly he felt as if his right eye had caught fire and was burning violently. Screaming and falling to his knees, his arms flew to his eye, trying to put out the non-existing flames. Orpheus was also experiencing something, as its body started to crack and arms erupted out of its neck. Ripping the body to pieces and sending the head rolling somewhere, an awful monster emerged from Orpheus. It's head was like that of a dragon's skull and it seemed to be wearing a long black trench coat with white boots and gloves. A large golden belt adorned around his waist held a sheathed sword in place. On it's back it sported a cape made out of incredibly ornate but nonetheless eerie coffins which were chained into his body. The creature let out a loud scream, akin to that of the devil himself, if not more terrifying.

Minato was no longer in pain. On the contrary, he was in ecstasy. He was smiling wickedly at the Shadow, his right eye finally visible for all to see. Unlike his left eye, which still held its grayish-bluish color, his other eye was of a crimson red. Not like that of Hamuko's though. His eye was...evil.

Minato let out a crazy laugh before giving orders to the new creature.

"Go! Kill that bastard! Tear it limb from limb! Hahahahaha! Murder that fucking creature as slow as possible! Thanatos!"

The monster complied and charged at the Shadow without falter. The Shadow tried to counterattack, but it was too slow. It's arms were cut off one by one. In the end, Thanatos sheathed its sword and simply teared its arms off. The Shadow screeched in pain, but the Persona (?) was showing no mercy. Minato was laughing all the while. When the monster was only just a collection of dismembered arms and a badly cracked mask, Thanatos took said mask and crushed it with its bare hands. As the blue dust scattered in the wind and eventually evaporated, the remaining arms melted away, thus signifying the creatures destruction. It wasn't just destruction. It was mass destruction.

Minato kept on laughing as Thanatos roared in victory.

"Yes...destroy...destroy...destroy...DESTROY EVERYTHING!"

Hamuko was cowering in a corner, too afraid to approach her brother. She had never seen him like this before. I mean, he did have some mood eruptions once in a while, but...this was too much.

Luckily, Minato soon regained his senses and Thanatos, letting out a final roar, faded into the shadows and transformed back into Orpheus.

Exhausted and confused over what just happened, Minato collapsed and lost consciousness. The last thing he heard was his dear sister's pleas for him to get up. Minato closed his eyes, happy that he could give his life to save her. She was safe, and that was all that mattered...

 

 

* * *

**!Persona Compendium!**

**Minato** : Hello dear guests, and welcome to the Persona Compendium. I am Arisato Minato, the main character of this story and your host for today's visit. Today's subject will be Orpheus and Eurydice. As you may very well know, Orpheus and Eurydice are figures from Greek mythology. Their story is very touching and sad. Unfortunately, I won't be telling you about the legend today. This segment is supposed to be short and straight to the point. If you're curious about the story, then Google it. Well then, first I'll talk about my Persona, Orpheus. Orpheus specializes in fire, light and physical attacks, strike type attacks to be more exact. Thus, it is strong against said type of attacks and inherits skills of this type. On the downside, it is weak to both dark and electric attacks. Wind, pierce and slash type attacks effect it normally. You probably realized that its strengths have changed a little. Yes, as you can guess, Orpheus will be stronger in this story than in the game. The same goes for Eurydice as well. Alright then, next up is...

**Hamuko** : Oh, oh! Me! Me! I got this one!

**Minato** : Hamuko? What're you doing here? You weren't supposed to appear this episode!

**Hamuko** : But it's not fair that you get all the spotlight! I want to have some fun too! C'mon, please!

**Minato** : Okay, okay! Just shut up for a sec.

**Hamuko** : Alright! Then, here I go! Welcome, dear guests, to the Persona Compendium!

**Minato** : I already said that!

**Hamuko** : Really? I wasn't really paying attention! Teehee!

**Minato** : Don't 'Teehee!' me, just explain your Persona to them!

**Hamuko** : Okey Dokey! As I was saying, I'm Hamuko, the cute maid who will take care of you tonight, Master! Hehe. Well, then, my Persona! As you may know, my Personas name is Eurydice. She specializes, inherits and is strong against dark, ice and strike attacks, but is weak against fire and light. The rest effect it normally. Also, let's not forget the fact that Eurydice was Orpheus's wife. Since they were husband and wife, they, of course, did H-type things together, if you get my drift. They specialize in H-type moves! Since they're our Personas, get ready to see plenty of H stuff going on between me and Onii-chan!

**Minato** : H-hey! W-wait a sec!

**Hamuko** : Sorry, Minato-nii! We're out of time! Read the next chapter for some hot skinship! Bye Bye!


End file.
